Delhi’s air quality has reached dangerous levels after Diwali
Delhi‘s air quality has crossed the “dangerous” mark on Diwali evening and morning after PM2.5 pollution levels reached 774.69 at 3 am on Friday. The city’s average AQI reached an alarming 1645 around 1am.
Nehru Stadium (1103), Okhla (1100) and ITO (948) recorded some of the worst PM2.5 levels and pollution levels are above the danger mark across the city.
The National Capital’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 661 at 6 a.m. Friday, up from 382 on Thursday, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board. It was 314 on Wednesday, 303 on Tuesday and 281 on Monday.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 are considered ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 are considered ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 are considered ‘poor’, 301 and 400 are considered ‘very poor’ and 401 and 500 are considered ‘severe’ .
Authorities predicted that the level of pollution in Delhi would increase and the share of straw burning in pollution in the national capital would increase by 25 per cent on Diwali day itself. It was the highest of the year.
This, along with the people celebrating the festival, contributes to the poorest day of the year in the national capital in terms of air quality.
In addition to Delhi, air quality in adjoining areas like Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram has also been severely violated. At 6 am, AQI in Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram stood at 956, 729 and 737 respectively.
Burning straw makes matters worse
According to the forecast of the SAFAR model, the hay burning rate may increase to 35 percent on Friday and 40 percent on Saturday and the wind direction changes to the north-west. This can keep pollution levels above dangerous levels.
North-westerly winds carry smoke from farm fires in Punjab and Haryana towards the national capital.
“Relief is expected only from the evening of November 7, but AQI will fluctuate within the ‘very bad’ range,” the air quality forecasting agency said.
A 2020 report by the Swiss company IQAAR found that 22 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities were in India, with Delhi ranked as the most polluted capital in the world.
The same year, the Lancet said that in 2019, 1.67 million people died due to air pollution in India, of which about 17,500 are in the capital.
Delhi’s air quality has reached dangerous levels after Diwali
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by News East India staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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